Hot Potato

This game is about remembering what you’re supposed to do while doing a different motions, like passing a hot potato as quickly as possible. We are playing this game to practice memory and attention. If we practice memory and attention, we can keep track of important information to use at home and at school.

1. Have students stand in a circle. Use an object that can be passed around the circle, such as a ball, a water bottle, a chalkboard eraser. Pretend it is a “hot potato” that has just come out of the oven or off the fire; it is steaming hot and you can’t hold it very long or it will burn.
2. Pass the hot potato around the circle as quickly as possible without dropping it.
3. The next round, before starting, give students a task or sequence of actions (such as jump, turn around, tap your head).
4. Explain that students will pass around the object while music is playing, and whoever is holding the object when the music stops must remember and do the correct task.

• What about this game was easy or hard for you?
• What strategies did you use? What might you do differently next time?
• When do you need to focus at home or at school?
• How else would you like to play this game?

For primary school students:

• To decrease the challenge, play the game at a slower pace and limit the number or complexity of the actions.
• Let students take turns deciding the sequence and number of actions for each round.

For students in grades 5-6:

• Ask an academic question (e.g., math question) before you start the music. Students should not answer the question right away but keep the question and answer in their minds as they play the game. When the music stops students can share the response to the question.
• To add a challenge, increase the number of tasks or the complexity of actions (e.g., go to desk, write on paper the name of 3 animals and 1 food). To make this game even harder, have two potatoes, each with a different assigned task.